| Date | 6 – 9 April 1896 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Panathinaiko Stadio, Athina |
| Participants | 9 from 6 countries |
America’s Charles Kilpatrick was the world record holder and easily the top ½-mile runner in the world, but he did not make the trip to Athens. This left the favorite’s role to Australia’s Edwin “Teddy” Flack, an accountant who was living and training in London in 1896.
The heats of the 800 metres were held on 6 April. Flack won heat one over Hungary’s Nándor Dáni, with Fritz Traun (GER) third, and Britain’s George Marshall finishing fourth and last. In heat two, Albin Lermusiaux (FRA) won narrowly over three Hellenes, led by Dimitrios Golemis, and Georges de la Nézière of France.
The 800 metre finals were held three days later, on 9 April. Lermusiaux chose not to start, presumably saving himself for the marathon, which was to start the next day. Thus, only three runners contested the final – Flack, Dáni, and Golemis. Flack won by 10 metres in 2:11.0, easing up, with Dáni second, and Golemis over 100 metres behind Flack.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Teddy Flack |  AUS | 2:10 (1 h1) | 2:11 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | – | Nándor Dáni |  HUN | 2:10.2 (2 h1) | 2:11.8 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | – | Dimitrios Golemis |  GRE | 2:16.8 (2 h2) | at 20-100 metres (3) | Bronze | ||
| 1 h1 r1/2 | 4 | Albin Lermusiaux |  FRA | 2:16.6 (1 h2) | – | |||
| 3 h1 r1/2 | – | Fritz Traun |  GER | at 20 metres (3 h1) | – | |||
| 3 h2 r1/2 | – | Georges de la Nézière | FRA | – (3 h2) | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/2 | – | George Marshall |  GBR | – (4 h1) | – | |||
| AC h2 r1/2 | – | Dimitri Tombrof | GRE | – (AC h2) | – | |||
| AC h2 r1/2 | – | Angelos Fetsis | GRE | – (AC h2) | – | |||
| – | Luis Subercaseaux |  CHI | – | – | ||||
| – | István Zaborszky | HUN | – | – | ||||
| – | Fritz Hofmann | GER | – | – | ||||
| – | Frantz Reichel | FRA | – | – | ||||
| – | Kurt Doerry | GER | – | – | ||||
| – | Tom Burke |  USA | – | – |
| Date | 6 April 1896 — 16:15 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top 2 in each heat advanced to the final round. |
| Time | 16:15 |
|---|
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Teddy Flack | AUS | 2:10 | ||
| 2 | – | Nándor Dáni | HUN | 2:10.2 | ||
| 3 | – | Fritz Traun | GER | at 20 metres | ||
| 4 | – | George Marshall | GBR | – |
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Albin Lermusiaux | FRA | 2:16.6 | ||
| 2 | – | Dimitrios Golemis | GRE | 2:16.8 | ||
| 3 | – | Georges de la Nézière | FRA | – | ||
| – | Dimitri Tombrof | GRE | – | |||
| – | Angelos Fetsis | GRE | – |
| Date | 9 April 1896 — 14:30 |
|---|
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Teddy Flack | AUS | 2:11 | ||
| 2 | – | Nándor Dáni | HUN | 2:11.8 | ||
| 3 | – | Dimitrios Golemis | GRE | at 20-100 metres |
